Watervliet Arsenal remains a major contributor to the Capital Region's economy

By Andrew Beam

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a three-day series about the Watervliet Arsenal marking its 200 anniversary.

Today, we focus on the economic impact the Arsenal has had on both the City of Watervliet and the Capital District as a whole, not only the private businesses that have set up shop in the government facility but also the generations of families who have earned a good living working there.

Friday, we will cover the change of command ceremony that will feature Col. Lee H. Schiller taking the helm from outgoing commander Col. Mark Migaleddi.

WATERVLIET -- While the Arsenal has faced some ups and downs during its 200 years of existence, it has always been a community force in the Capital District.

The Arsenal has remained a major employer in the area, but how just how major, of course, is dictated by the situation at any given time. Different products were manufactured for the various landscapes U.S. soldiers were fighting in.

According to arsenal Deputy Commander Edward McCarthy, the facility employed approximately 2,800 people, made up of direct and indirect labor, in 1989. But after the Cold War ended and the need to be prepared for an attack seeped away, McCarthy said the number dropped down to 484 in 2001.

Currently, there are around 611 employees with 167 of them having 25 years of service or more. Former U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, a well-known proponent of the arsenal, said many veterans who were returning home from either World War II or the the Korean Conflict and looking for work ended up at the arsenal.

"You don't have to go far in the Capital District to run into a retiree or family member of a retiree who worked at the arsenal," McNulty said. "It has been a source of income for numerous families buying houses and cars."

But the workforce has declined over the years as the demand for products dropped substantially resulting in the reduction of the workforce. There have been several funding cuts made to the Arsenal, leaving it almost in danger of being shuttered as the federal government placed it on the closure list in 1995. Much of the work was being outsourced at that time, and overseas production of the large caliber cannons was being considered.

McNulty said he would not let it happen.

"I led an effort in cooperation with a Republican counterpart (Queensbury Rep. Gerald Solomon) to push back and get the army to retreat on that," McNulty said. "There hasn't been a serious threat to the Arsenal since then."

While funding cuts have threatened the Arsenal, none have been as dire as those made 18 years ago.

McNulty said if there were to be another serious threat of closure he said the arsenal would be more prepared as it would be able to point to the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership which was made possible in 2001 after a federal Arsenal Support Program Initiative (ASPI), created by Congress, allowed the Arsenal to enter into a site management project with private entities, according to Joseph Turcotte, the Arsenal's director of installation management.

The partnership rents vacant buildings on the Arsenal's campus to private tenants.

Turcotte, referencing a recent study conducted by Thoth Solutions, According to Turcotte, says that the program has brought in $95,435,962 through fiscal year 2010, revenue which is separate from the Arsenal's federal government tenants.

That figure is down from a previous study, which said the program had brought in over $100,000,000 according to Turcotte.

He said there has even been a $40 million investment into the ASPI program through a Congressional earmark, adding that the federal government had complained it hadn't necessarily gotten a great return on its investment. This was mainly due to the fact any benefits which came from the partnership, such as M + W Group moving its headquarters from Texas to the Arsenal, only benefited the region.

"It wasn't paying back specifically the way the army had anticipated in reducing costs," Turcotte said. "It was building jobs in the local district."

At many of the Albany County and Rensselaer County Honor a Veteran Ceremonies, which McNulty said he attends, there are many veterans there who actually worked at the Arsenal. McNulty said Arsenal Col. Mark Migaleddi, who will be leaving the arsenal at the end of the week, was one of the first arsenal colonels to make a regular appearance at the events.

"He got out in the community more," McNulty said. "Things have taken a turn for the better in recent years as far as community outreach is concerned."

The effects have been far reaching as partnership President Peter Gannon said anyone you talk to in the community has been impacted by the Arsenal, claiming "the reach of the facility is significant." Gannon said he hopes after celebrating the first 200 years they will be able to look ahead to another 200 years. And with the amount of economic activity being generated by the partnership today, he said the Arsenal is just as relevant as it ever was.

"It's a source of pride for the entire region," Gannon said. "The fact we can play a part in continuing that means a lot to me personally."